Bill > A03158

This bill allows taxpayers to claim a tax credit of up to $200 for expenses incurred in developing software programs released under an "open source" or "free software" license. Open source and free software licenses, recognized by organizations like the Open Source Initiative and the Free Software Foundation, allow others to use, modify, and distribute the software freely. The credit is calculated as 20% of the taxpayer's out-of-pocket expenses for developing such programs, with a maximum of $200 per taxable year. Taxpayers must elect to apply this credit for a specific taxable year, and this election cannot be made for the same program in multiple years. If the credit amount exceeds the taxpayer's tax liability for the year, the unused portion can be carried over to future years. This provision applies to taxable years beginning on or after January 1st following the bill's enactment.